Toronto's medical officer of health has called for the update to Ontario's sexual health education curriculum to stay on track after Premier Dalton McGuinty decided to pull it following a backlash.
"The Ministry of Education deserves credit for producing an excellent revision to the school curriculum on sexual health," Dr. David McKeown said in a statement issued Friday.
"Kids need clear, unbiased, age-appropriate information and parents need the support offered by a strong sexual health program in schools."
McKeown said he would like to see the curriculum in place by September, noting that sexually-transmitted infection rates are rising.
"In a culture where unreliable information is rampant, it is essential that our schools protect public health and promote healthy sexuality by providing evidence-driven and comprehensive sexual education," he said.
“Research shows that when young people have good sexual health knowledge, they postpone sex and have lower rates of teen pregnancy, and they practice safer sex when they become sexually active."
While sex education is always controversial, "good public policy must be based on sound evidence," McKeown said.
McGuinty made the announcement about backing down on the curriculum while in London on Wednesday afternoon. It came hours after former education minister Sandra Pupatello gave a fiery defence of the policy, which actually came out quietly in January, during question period at Queen's Park.
The current curriculum for Grades 1 to 8 students was established in 1998.
Some newspaper editorials have described it as being about values education, not the mechanics of sexual acts.
For example, Grade 3 students will learn about healthy relationships and accepting differences. Students in Grades 7 and 8 would learn about delaying sexual activity and preventing unwanted pregnancies.
However, McGuinty said given the backlash from parents and interest groups, his government's job is to now find a policy and curriculum that parents are comfortable with.
